Chasing the Nightmares Away
by Rainbow of Shadows
Summary: Just a fluffy Soriku story for Soriku day. It's about nightmares. I don't really know what else about it that wouldn't give it away.


Hi guys and HAPPY SORIKU DAY! This is a little story that I wrote just to celebrate. I don't own anything. So enjoy and please review. Thanks!

Chasing the Nightmares Away

Darkness…

That is all there was, as far as he could see.

Nothing but darkness.

Why was he here? No better question how did he get here? How could he have fallen? Was he gone forever? He needed out. He had to find the light once again. He didn't want to be lost again. In a panic he started to run. He had no idea where he was running to, was he running to the light or was he just running further into darkness? Last time he was here he remembered hearing _his_ voice, but now there was only an eerie silence. Where was _he_? _He_ would end this nightmare if _he_ would just show up. Then out of the surrounding darkness a laugh appeared. And then he wasn't alone anymore. But it wasn't the company that he desired, it was a dark presence there now, one that could chill bones and bring a feeling of hopeless despair to the brightest of hearts, a scene of darkness that could only belong to one man, Master Xehanort. He wasn't alone either, being accompanied by his Seekers of Darkness. As the laugher grow loader and more sinister the closer the beings of darkness got to him, gabbing him, trying to pull him under into the darkness so that they all may become one.

"Join us."

"No one can save you now."

"Join us."

These words were mixed with their sadistic laughter as he tried with all his might to kick and fight them off. He desperately tries again and again to summon his keyblade, his one true weapon that could break him free from Xehanort's clutches. But no matter what he did, he couldn't call the mighty weapon forth. He could feel his body grow weak and heavy with exhaustion if things don't change soon all of his fighting would be in vain, if _he_ didn't show up soon, he knew that he would be lost. It was getting him, he could feel the darkness enter his body, changing him from the inside out, suffocating his heart. In one last desperate attempt to save himself he let out a blood curdling scream.

"Sora! "

"Sora!"

"Wake Up!"

As if on cue Sora's eye shot open. Riku would have let out a sigh of relief if it wasn't for the fact that the bright blue eyes that he always admired were full of fear. Riku moved his hands from the younger boy's shoulders to hold the hands of his tense up friend so to help him sit up.

Sora's head remained down, not looking at any of his surroundings, or the worried teen sitting next to him, he just focused on getting his breathing under control.

"Sora?" Riku tilted his head down to look his friend in the eyes, "want to talk about it?"

Sora just shook his head, he didn't want to talk about it, he didn't want to admit to the brave and strong keyblade master Riku that he was scared, and he didn't want to have to admit it to himself. Then Sora's eyes locked on to the alarm clock near his bed revealing to him that it was 4:20 am and that he was in his new room at Master Yin Sid's. Not only was he here, sitting in the still strange walls, on the still strange bed, but so was Riku and that to Sora was a mystery. Sora's room was at the end of the hall, there wasn't anything near it and Riku, whose room came way before Sora's on the hallway wouldn't have any reason to pass it. Why was he here?

"Hey Riku…" Sora's voice softly spoke with a cracked, "how… why…" Sora didn't know how to form the words, he didn't want to offend his friend.

Riku knew what his friend was trying to say.

"Sora…" Sora quit trying to form the words, as he looked up at the owner of the gentle voice, "I was worried." That was all Riku could think of saying on the matter, to him it was the only reason. He was worried about Sora. He had no other words that could explain it, but from the confused look he was getting from his friend, Riku knew that he will have to make words to explain it more.

"I could tell that you haven't been sleeping well lately so I was checking up on you."

"But how could you tell?" asked Sora, he thought that he was hiding it pretty well, but then again this was Riku and nothing gets past Riku.

"You've been acting tired, I mean come on Sora I know you're lazy, but you never were this sluggish." Normally calling Sora lazy would get some king of rise out of him, like that cute pout he always managed to pull off even now in his teens, in fact Riku thought that it was even cuter now. But this time- nothing. Now Riku was really worried.

"Sora tell me what's wrong." Riku really hoped that he didn't sound too demanding or too forceful but he wanted to know, how else could he help if Sora wouldn't tell him what was wrong.

"It was nothing, jut a dream." Sora said flashing Riku with his trademark grin. Sora could fool anyone with it, he was such a happy go lucky person that anyone that didn't know Sora well could easy be fooled in thinking that the grin was real, when at times it wasn't. But no matter how hard he could try, he could never fool Riku. Riku could always tell when the grin was genuine or fake, and Sora should have known better than to try fooling Riku with that empty smile.

Riku wanted Sora to tell him what was really going on. Why wouldn't he? They told each other everything.

"Sora… please, tell me the truth." Riku begged.

With a deep sigh in defeat Sora slowly whispered, "I have been having these nightmares lately… of what happened during the mark of mastery test."

Riku kept quite wanting Sora to continue on about the dream.

"It's always the same…" Sora trailed off, head lowered, trying to get the words to form out of his month while still staying in control of his emotions. Riku took his hand, gently placed it under Sora's chin, lifting his head up so that Sora's sapphire eyes that were on the verge of tears were looking into Riku's which were filled of worry and concern that was masked over by a false sense of strength.

"Sora, it will be okay, everything will be okay." Riku hated to think that he wasn't going to get Sora to open up to him that night, but he knew that he can't force Sora to tell him, he would just have to be there for him.

"You and everyone didn't get to me in time!" Sora half-yelled and whispered out of nowhere.

Sora couldn't hold the tears anymore, he was tired, tired because he was losing sleep, tired because of the emotional toll that nightmare was bringing, but also relief because he is finally letting it all out. Latching his arms tightly around a shocked Riku.

Riku wrapped his arms around his crying friend, trying to find words of comfort.

"I'm sorry." Sora quietly muffled into Riku's chest.

"What?!" Riku exclaimed as he pulled Sora away from him so he could once again look him in the eyes.

Sora held his head down, tear drops ran down his face genteelly falling on the bed sheets.

"I'm sorry that I was worrying you," he started, "I'm sorry that I'm crying and I'm sorry that I'm sca-"

"Sora." Riku cut him off not wanting to hear another word. "It's okay." Riku wasn't going to blame Sora for crying or being scared, and Riku would always worry about Sora's well being, there was no stopping that.

"No it's not!" Sora busted out, lifting his head up while letting the tears fall more freely. "You never cry and you're never scared of anything!"

Riku pulled Sora back into a hug not believing that after everything that has happened, after all the battles, after Riku admitted that he wasn't better, Sora still held on to that old childhood belief. Looking down at the still crying Sora, who was clanging on to him for dear life, Riku knew that the silly "great and powerful Riku" belief had to end.

Swallowing his pride he started, "Sora, just because you don't see it doesn't mean that I don't cry and just because I don't show it doesn't mean that I don't get scared."

Sora tilted his head up to look at Riku with his eyes filled with tears and disbelief.

"Yeah right Riku you're not scared of anything." Sora said with a small chuckle as he whapped the tears from his eyes.

"Sora," Riku begun, "before I came here to check on you…I…" He tried to stay calm as his voice broke, "I had the same nightmare." He almost whispered. "I have been having it every night since the test."

"I didn't know. Why didn't you tell me? Have you been losing sleep too?" Sora urgently exclaimed. And then more genteelly "Why… you could've told me… you know that… right?"

Just like Sora to put all his fear and worries away so he could worry over a friend, thought Riku.

"I didn't want to worry you and besides I can handle it myself." Riku quickly said

"Have you been losing sleep?" Sora repeated

"Yeah." Riku uttered quietly and ashamed with his head tilted so he was looking at the door and not at Sora.

"But I didn't even know. I couldn't even tell" Now it was Sora that sounded ashamed. Ashamed that the one person that he loved the most was silently suffering and he was too oblivious to notice.

"I got good at hiding it." Riku whispered

"What?" Sora said as his head snapped up with his eyes wide like he was the one caught in the headlights, not Riku.

"Crap," that was all Riku could think of as he mentally kicked himself for letting that slip. Riku had to admit that for a clueless goof Sora did have his moments of not letting things get past him.

"This isn't the first time you lost sleep over a nightmare is it Riku?" Sora cautiously asked, hoping with all his heart that he would truthfully say no.

A moment of complete and unconfutable silence fell on the two keybladers.

"Answer me Riku." Sora finally demanded.

Riku didn't want to tell Sora the truth but he didn't want to lie to him either, slowly and with a sad sigh Riku nodded his head. "With all the mistakes that I made, with all the time I spent walking in darkness, hearing Xehanort's voice inside my head telling me that I was no good." Turning his head back to look at Sora, "Not knowing if I would ever see you again or whether or not if you would hate me… I'm bound to have a few." He finished with a small sad smile, trying to brush it off at last minute as it was nothing.

Now for like the third time that night Sora was wrapping is arms around Riku, but this time instead of seeking comfort, he was offering it, and Riku gladly accepted, wrapping his arms around Sora's twig like body, holding on tight.

"I can never hate you." Sora said breaking the silence, "Never forget that."

Riku nodded his head while a small smile formed on his lips, but unlike the last one, this one was true, filled with happiness that comes from the safe guarantee that Sora would always love him.

They stayed like that holding each other with Sora's face resting on Riku's shoulder and Riku's head buried in Sora's messy brown hair.

"Hey Riku?" Sora asked after a while. Riku with his head still on top of Sora's hummed a reply.

"Let's promise to never hide our nightmares from each other again." Sora said with a hint of his usual bubbly self back in his voice.

"That sounds like a good idea." Riku said with a smile.

With that promise made the two lied down in the bed, pulling up the covers and trying to get comfortable while still holding each other in a warm embrace.

"No more nightmares." Sora reinsured as he snuggled up close to Riku, with his hands softly curled around one of Riku's.

"No more" Riku repeated as he lightly kissed Sora's forehead.

Intertwined together in a strong hug and holding hands, both fell into a peaceful and fit-less sleep, knowing that they had each other to chase away their nightmares.


End file.
